Various inflatable pads have been widely employed in people's daily life, from the large-size air cushions for use as fire and lifesaving appliances or seat cushions to the small-size inflatable breast enhancer pads. These cushions or pads are either inflated using an external device, such as an air pump that force air into the cushions or the pads, or are directly equipped with an inflating device that can be manually operated to inflate the cushions or the pad. The conventional inflatable breast enhancer pad is one example of the pads equipped with an inflating device.
The inflatable breast enhancer pad is small in size but plays an important role in creating a more feminine and perfect breast shape. Generally, there are various kinds of breast enhancer pads, in which water, silicone or air can be filled. Among others, the breast enhancer pads filled with air are safest for use. Moreover, the air volume inside the breast enhancer pads can be regulated to change the contour and size of the pads according to the user's actual need.
FIG. 8 shows a conventional inflatable breast enhancer pad 90 having an inflating device connected to an inner side of the pad 90. The inflating device includes an inflating section 91 raised from an outer surface of the pad 90 and a deflating section 92. By manually pushing the pad 90 at the inflating section 91, the pad 90 can be inflated and expanded. On the other hand, by manually pushing the pad 90 at the deflating section 92, the pad 90 can be deflated to occupy only a reduced storing space or to have a reduced expansion degree.
While the above-described conventional inflatable breast enhancer pad 90 can be conveniently manually inflated and deflated via the inflating section 91 and the deflecting section 92, respectively, it involves relatively complicated manufacturing procedures and is easily subject to leaking because the inflating section 91 and the deflating section 92 are separately provided on the pad 90 to produce more joints that tend to adversely affect the air-tightness of the pad 90 at these joints. Other types of improved inflating devices have been developed to overcome the disadvantages of the conventional inflatable breast enhancer pad 90. One of the improved inflating devices includes a connecting tube to interconnect the inflating and the deflating section with each other, so as to integrate the inflating and deflating functions in one device. The conventional device integrating the inflating and deflating functions usually has complicated structure, and the connecting tube having a relative large length tends to lower the inflating efficiency while being subject to leaking, too. Therefore, most of the currently commercially available inflatable breast enhancer pads still adopt the separated inflating section 91 and deflating section 92.